Strategic planning process

Strategic planning is a process of determining what you want your business to achieve over the long-term - and what you have to do to get there. It's typically done by a management team following a process similar to this one:

1. Define long-tern goals and vision in terms of products and services you expect to deliver to customers, the financial status you expect to realize, and associated factors.

2. Identify the most powerful trends that will affect your business.

3. Formulate strategies that can help you reach your goals under these conditions. Reiterate the process until it is logical and achievable.

4. Convert the strategies into action plans for implementation with objectives, milestones and measures.